HemisFair Arena memories

Updated 9:15 am, Saturday, April 6, 2013

Al Sturchio, 84, is the former trumpet-playing bandleader of "The Sound of the Spurs, " which performed at Spurs games at HemisFair Arena in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

Al Sturchio, 84, is the former trumpet-playing bandleader of "The Sound of the Spurs, " which performed at Spurs games at HemisFair Arena in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

Photo: Helen L. Montoya, Express-News

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Al Sturchio, 84, is the former trumpet-playing bandleader of "The Sound of the Spurs, " which performed at Spurs games at HemisFair Arena in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

Al Sturchio, 84, is the former trumpet-playing bandleader of "The Sound of the Spurs, " which performed at Spurs games at HemisFair Arena in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

Photo: Helen L. Montoya, Express-News

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Larry Kenon vs. the NY Knicks in 1978 action at the HemisFair Arena.

Larry Kenon vs. the NY Knicks in 1978 action at the HemisFair Arena.

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The Sound of the Spurs "The Sound of the Spurs, " performed at Spurs games at HemisFair Arena in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

The Sound of the Spurs "The Sound of the Spurs, " performed at Spurs games at HemisFair Arena in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

Photo: COURTESY, Express-News

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Spurs star George Gervin drives around Julius Erving in 1975 at the HemisFair Arena in San Antonio

Spurs star George Gervin drives around Julius Erving in 1975 at the HemisFair Arena in San Antonio

Photo: Express-News File Photo

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"The Sound of the Spurs, " performed at Spurs games at HemisFair Arena in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, pose with George Gervin.

"The Sound of the Spurs, " performed at Spurs games at HemisFair Arena in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, pose with George Gervin.

Photo: Courtesy, Express-News

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George Karl shoots vs. Indiana at the HemisFair arena in 1974.

George Karl shoots vs. Indiana at the HemisFair arena in 1974.

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Spurs' Larry Kenon vs. the Milwaukee Bucks in 1978 at the HemisFair Arena.

Spurs' Larry Kenon vs. the Milwaukee Bucks in 1978 at the HemisFair Arena.

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The New York Nets' Julius Erving drives around the Spurs' Coby Dietrick (25) and Mark Olberding during a regular-season ABA game at HemisFair Arena on Jan. 6, 1976. EXPRESS-NEWS FILE PHOTO

The New York Nets' Julius Erving drives around the Spurs' Coby Dietrick (25) and Mark Olberding during a regular-season ABA game at HemisFair Arena on Jan. 6, 1976. EXPRESS-NEWS FILE PHOTO

Photo: Express-News

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The Spurs' George Gervin splits the defense of the Nets' Julius Erving (left) and Rich Jones (33) during a regular-season ABA game against New York at HemisFair Arena on March 5, 1976. EXPRESS-NEWS FILE PHOTO

The Spurs' George Gervin splits the defense of the Nets' Julius Erving (left) and Rich Jones (33) during a regular-season ABA game against New York at HemisFair Arena on March 5, 1976. EXPRESS-NEWS FILE PHOTO

"Obstructed view" seating often provided a cheap way to see Spurs games in the pillar-laden HemisFair Arena, the team's original home court. The team, shown in this 1979 file photo, focused more on offensive scoring in the days when NBA players had big hair, short-shorts and long tube socks. FILE PHOTO less

"Obstructed view" seating often provided a cheap way to see Spurs games in the pillar-laden HemisFair Arena, the team's original home court. The team, shown in this 1979 file photo, focused more on offensive ... more

Photo: STEVE KRAUSS, Express-News

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Rain falls as fans leave a Spurs game at HemisFair Arena via Market Street Friday night, Jan. 11, 1985. The Spurs lost to the Portland Trailblazers,123-103.

Rain falls as fans leave a Spurs game at HemisFair Arena via Market Street Friday night, Jan. 11, 1985. The Spurs lost to the Portland Trailblazers,123-103.

Photo: San Antonio Express-News File Photo

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Phoenix Suns 102, Spurs 100: 1993 Western Conference semifinals - Charles Barkley’s jump shot over David Robinson eliminates the Spurs in their final game at HemisFair Arena. Express-News file photo

Phoenix Suns 102, Spurs 100: 1993 Western Conference semifinals - Charles Barkley’s jump shot over David Robinson eliminates the Spurs in their final game at HemisFair Arena. Express-News file photo

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Larry Kenon of the Spurs drives to the basket during an ABA game at the HemisFair Arena circa 1975 in San antonio (Photo by NBA Photo Library/NBAE via Getty Images)

Larry Kenon of the Spurs drives to the basket during an ABA game at the HemisFair Arena circa 1975 in San antonio (Photo by NBA Photo Library/NBAE via Getty Images)

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San Antonio Force and the the Arizona Rattlers at the Hemisfair Arena.June 6, 1992 Photo by Rick Hunter/San Antonio Express-News,

San Antonio Force and the the Arizona Rattlers at the Hemisfair Arena.June 6, 1992 Photo by Rick Hunter/San Antonio Express-News,

Photo: RICK HUNTER, San Antonio Express-News

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San Antonio Force players huddle moments before their first game in the since-demolished Hemisfair Arena in 1992. The team played one season in the Arena Football League before ceasing operations.

San Antonio Force players huddle moments before their first game in the since-demolished Hemisfair Arena in 1992. The team played one season in the Arena Football League before ceasing operations.

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HemisFair Arena memories

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Al Sturchio grew wistful as he stood at Market and Bowie streets, a half-court shot away from the site of the Spurs' first home.

“We had so much fun over there,” Sturchio, 84, said as he gazed south toward the Tower of the Americas. “It was a very special time in my life. Oh, boy, was it sad to see it torn down.”

That's a sentiment thousands of San Antonians likely share with the trumpet-playing band leader.

Demolished 18 years ago, HemisFair Arena once was the city's main venue for big-scale entertainment, including the Spurs' first 20 seasons.

Saturday marks the 45th anniversary of the opening of what the club proudly called “The Noisiest Arena in the NBA.”

The Spurs grew up at the city-owned building, which on game nights in the 1970s oozed the free-wheeling attitude San Antonio embraced in those days.

“I don't know how to phrase it, but San Antonio wasn't a city then,” said Denver Nuggets coach George Karl, an original Spur.

“It was a town, a big town, and the Arena got to be like a party. It was the thing to do. It was a celebration of San Antonio nightlife at a basketball game.”

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Like Sturchio, whose seven-piece band “The Sound of the Spurs” was an arena fixture, B.J. “Red” McCombs' voice took on a plaintive tone when discussing his old haunt.

“I've been involved in a lot of things that were significant for San Antonio,” the 85-year-old billionaire said. “But when people ask me what was the most important, the answer is easy — the Spurs. It put us on another level, and it wouldn't have happened without HemisFair Arena.

“Now it's gone, and there's nothing left to remind you of it. It's sad. You'd never know the place was there.”

With the Spurs two years into their nine-year stint at the Alamodome, the city razed the Arena in 1995 to expand the Convention Center.

All that's left now are memories, including: raucous nickel beer nights; tobacco smoke wafting through the rafters, where Air Force trainees sat; prime seats priced as low as $7; Sturchio's band playing “San Antonio Rose” and other regional favorites; and a taped version of the “Cotton-Eye Joe” playing during timeouts.

The Arena also marked the golden age of the Baseline Bums, who tormented foes and refs with profanity-laced chants and cruel pranks.

Strategically seated above the tunnel to the visitor's locker room, the Bums were fronted by “Big” George Valle, who passionately waved the Texas flag.

Adding to the down-home atmosphere was wry public address announcer Pat Tallman, the Bums' partner in crime when it came to jabbing the refs.

“It was just such an uplifting, happy place,” said Doug Moe, a Spurs coach in the 1970s whose unpretentious style made him a fan favorite. “Everybody was friendly.”

The round, domed, 10,070-seat Arena was built for San Antonio's World Fair — HemisFair '68 — a landmark event in the city's history.

It was a feel-good moment amidst one of the most turbulent years in U.S. history, which included the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968.

HemisFair '68 forever changed San Antonio, but nobody at the time foresaw the impact it would have on San Antonio's future as a big-league city.

“Nobody envisioned the Arena for basketball because nobody here watched basketball in those days,” McCombs said.

That changed in 1973 when a group of about 30 local investors led by McCombs and the late Angelo Drossos paid $200,000 up front to lease the cash-strapped Dallas Chaparrals of the wild and wooly American Basketball Association.

Later that season, the group bought the newly named San Antonio Spurs outright for an additional $600,000 for the sole purpose of putting the city on the national sports map.

“We didn't have a bad reputation nationally, we had a zero reputation,” McCombs said.

The Spurs helped change that, and it all began at the Arena, which housed the team until it moved to the Alamodome in 1993.

“San Antonio learned to love the game of basketball there,” McCombs said. “We all became experts even though we didn't know diddly about the sport.”

'Whole city showed up'

Attendance was sparse at the start. A solid 5,879 witnessed the Spurs' first ABA game, a 121-106 loss to the San Diego Conquistadors on Oct. 10, 1973, but a game a month later drew just 1,765.

But fans began to flock to the Arena after Bob Bass replaced defensive-minded Tom Nissalke as coach midway through the 1974-75 season and installed an up-tempo offense for high-scoring guards George Gervin and James Silas.

“The great thing was the whole city showed up — West Side, North Side, East Side, South Side — with one common goal: kill the opponent,” McCombs said.

Aesthetically, the building was mundane.

“It was a bandbox,” said Wayne Witt, the Spurs' former director of public relations, “but one tough place to play.”

The Spurs were 572-251 in the regular season while at the Arena and had only one season with a sub-.500 record on their home court.

“Everybody wanted to claim they had the noisiest arena, but this one really was,” Witt said. “It was all steel and concrete. There was nothing to absorb the sound. It just rattled around in there.”

The Bums alone made plenty of noise, keeping beer vendors busy in the process.

“Those people don't stop throwing up until about 1 o'clock in the afternoon,” Tallman, who died in 1990, told Sports Illustrated in 1982.

Among the Bums' favorite targets was then-Nuggets coach Larry Brown. Legend has it they once splattered Brown, who later coached the Spurs, with avocados after he claimed “the only good thing about San Antonio is guacamole salad.”

“The Baseline Bums gave everybody the business,” former ABA star Ron Boone said. “If you were a jerk, they were all over you.”

The Bums worked closely with Sturchio to fire up the Spurs and intimidate everyone else.

“We'd signal to Al with our hands to play songs for the refs like 'Three Blind Mice,'” said Valle, 62. “When I wanted to wave the (Texas) flag to get the crowd going, I'd motion to him and he'd strike up 'The Yellow Rose of Texas.'”

When the team needed a boost, Sturchio played “Charge!”

“Al got everybody riled up with that trumpet,” Gervin said.

Between the third and fourth periods, the band serenaded the crowd with the Spanish ballad “Volver” as a spotlight fell on the Bum's “Dancing Harry” while he waltzed with an imaginary partner.

“Al and the band played real San Antonio music, music you wouldn't hear anywhere else,” Bass said.

Said Sturchio: “It was an atmosphere of joy.”

And one that screamed South Texas.

“That was on purpose,” Witt said. “We wanted that identity. That was all part of the aura, of opponents saying, 'Oh, geez, we got to go to San Antonio and play in that place, where all they do is play that loud Mexican music.'”

'Drink that Lone Star'

The Lone Star vibe was omnipresent at the 1975 ABA All-Star Game.

Willie Nelson performed and most valuable player Freddie Lewis from the Spirits of St. Louis won a quarter horse named Tuff Julie, a hand-stitched saddle and a Cowboy hat.

Lewis kept the saddle and hat, which he sat atop his 6-inch Afro, but wouldn't take the horse. He actually owned horses he kept in Arizona but decided not to take Tuff Julie because he would have to pay the transportation fees. Instead, he received her auction price of $1,950.

“I wanted the horse because it was pretty and strong,” Lewis said. “I thought, 'Oh, dang, if this would have been a car I'd have jumped right in and driven it to St. Louis.'”

Tuff Julie died soon thereafter of colic.

The most bizarre Arena moment occurred when “Dancing Harry” got married at center court during halftime of a game in the 1970s while sporting a velvet tux, shades and a fedora.

The reception was at Lone Star Pavilion in HemisFair Park, a postgame gathering place for coaches, players, statisticians, media, fans and even referees.

“We'd drink that Lone Star and have a nice time,” Gervin said.

With the income gap between players and fans much smaller then, they frequently mingled. Pecan Valley Golf Course and the Hill Country were among the gathering spots.

“Going to the Hill Country and having beers and barbecue was almost a weekly occurrence,” Karl said.

Fans also have fond memories.

“Players didn't act like they were above you then,” said Sefcik, a former police detective. “They'd drink beer with you like anyone else.”

'I saw blood ... '

The Arena wasn't always festive. There were plenty of ugly fights, including some involving fans.

One of the most memorable occurred in 1980 and involved Valle, fellow Bum Johnny Merla and Celtics greats Larry Bird and Dave Cowens.

After the Spurs rallied to beat Boston, the Bums taunted the Celtics as chokers as they walked to their bus.

“Cowens told me, 'You big, fat hog, what makes you so great?'” Valle said. “I told him, 'Makin' fun of you.' Then Cowens spit at Johnny after Johnny called him a choker. When Johnny spit back, Bird came up and hit Johnny up side the head with his gym bag.”

The 17-minute melee that ensued didn't stop until police intervened. Afterward, bloody mouths abounded among the Spurs, who lost the game and then the series in seven games.

“It wasn't a hold-'em-and-dance kind of thing,” Witt said of what became known as the Easter Day Massacre.

With his baritone voice and signature call after timeouts of “Bring 'em back,” Tallman added to the volatility.

“There's never been a PA guy as good as Pat, and I've been to events all over the world,” McCombs said. “He had great timing, knew where the tender spots were and just how far he could go with the refs.”

'Bermuda Triangle'

The Spurs had high-scoring, entertaining teams during much of their Arena run. In the 1970s, Gervin, Silas and Larry Kenon thrilled.

Mark Olberding and other big men banged away as the Bruise Brothers in the 1980s. In the 1990s, David Robinson lifted a sagging franchise.

On three occasions after the NBA-ABA merger in 1976, the Spurs appeared in the conference finals.

“We always had teams right on the edge of being a champion,” McCombs said.

In 1977, the Arena's roof was raised 33 feet to boost seating to 16,057.

Larger crowds meant more noise, but the building lost some of its Wild West feel and some seats became obstructed by pillars.

The Spurs lost their final game at the Arena when Phoenix's Charles Barkley hit a jumper in the final seconds to close out a 1993 playoff series. As the years passed at the dome and later the AT&T Center, the atmosphere at games became more staid, reflecting the NBA's emphasis on uniformity.

A much more polite version of the Bums remains — and they're much farther away from the baseline these days — but “The Sound of the Spurs” was turned off after the team left the Arena.

“People still say to me, 'Whatever happened to the band? We really enjoyed it,'” said Sturchio, who explained the Spurs bumped the band from the dome for logistical reasons.

The Spurs have won four NBA titles since 1999, but none of it would have been possible without the Arena. Yet there's nothing at the Convention Center to commemorate it.

“People don't believe you when you tell them there was an arena there,” Bass said. “It's like the Bermuda Triangle — it just vanished.”